Simple Things

I'm not feeling inspired today by anything grand or exciting. But I am often amazed by the simple beauty of nature. I had some time last night to just be, and look around for a little while as I waited for a guest speaker. I looked at some cottonwood trees to see if I could see any sign of the cottonwood beetles that infested it last year. There were none.

Then I looked at some Gambel Oak, and noticed the differences in size, shape and shade of green of the leaves. And how on some of them, the outer most leaves have already begun to shrivel and die. Drought? Or a bug?

I stopped to watch and listen to the birds singing their varied songs, flitting from tree to tree. I wondered what they were, but never got a clear enough view of them to even make a guess. And I didn't recognize the song. So they remained a mystery. Sometimes that's just fine. In fact, sometimes it's better that way.

The other night I sat and watched a Big Brown Bat fly overhead, swerving this way and that, catching near elusive insects. Have you ever watched a bat fly? I mean really watched? They are amazing animals. One of these days I may do an entire blog on bats.

I am constantly amazed at the beauty of even the most simple things in life. I'm not an activist in any way, but I feel great loss and frustration when I see how we all to often regard things of nature as expendable, unimportant in the big picture. They are the big picture. And I believe, at some future time, maybe sooner than later, we will be held accountable for how we treat and what we do with these God-given creations.